Last night's "RTÉ Investigates" made for harrowing viewing. We saw people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties being subjected to degrading treatment and even dying in custody. Such was the tragic case of Ivan Rosney. These vulnerable people require care and compassion, not cold prison cells. Last October, I visited Cork Prison. As a result of what I saw, I started asking questions. At the end of January, figures provided to me showed that 38 people are being held in prison waiting to be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital. That is a 23% increase since November. The average waiting time for a transfer from the prison to hospital is now seven months. For somebody in the midst of a mental health crisis, that is an eternity. At the same time, 50 beds in the Central Mental Hospital are lying idle. Three years after the hospital opened, that is an utter disgrace. The HSE promised to open 18 of those beds last year but just two opened - another broken promise. On top of that, unforgivably, there are 28 vacancies in the hospital. Will the Government immediately fill these vacancies and open the overdue mental health beds?

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Fifty beds.

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